Chapter 2

Half-groggy, I was jolted awake by a loud bang on the door.

Outside, it was already dark.

Snow was standing in the doorway and glaring at me. When she saw I was awake, she strode over to the couch.

“Jared, do you have any idea how many times I called you? Why didn’t you answer?”

I rubbed my forehead and instinctively reached for my phone. That was when I realized it had died. I did not even notice that the battery had run out.

I held the phone out to her. She stared at the black screen for a moment, slightly stunned. She smelled faintly of a mix of alcohol and laundry detergent as she stood there.

My mind slowly cleared. Everything that had happened during the day suddenly came rushing back.

I finally understood why she, who normally never reached out to me, suddenly got angry when she could not reach me.

Was it because I had disrespected her father, or because of that comment I left?

Snow furrowed her brows. She said in a cold voice, “Then, you shouldn’t have made it impossible for me to find you.”

I asked, “When did you call me?”

“When?! I spent the entire day trying to reach you! I’ve been calling since 10 a.m.!”

‘10 a.m.…’ I remembered clearly.

That was shortly after I had posted that comment.

So, Snow had not been too busy to check her phone. It was not that she did not know how desperately I needed her at that moment. She simply did not care.

It was because I openly challenged Yulan that she could no longer stay calm.

I let out a bitter laugh and asked, “Snow, my life is just school and home every day. If you really had something important, you could have come to me yourself. Is there some reason you couldn’t?”

Snow furrowed her brows. She opened her mouth to speak but could not say a word.

“I would never do something as childish as deliberately ignoring your calls. I’ve been busy with a lot of things at school lately. Since you’re fine, there’s no need to force a conversation.”

I was completely drained and had no energy to argue with her. After that, I went back to my room.

Not long after, Snow came in.

She sat down beside me and, unusually patient, began explaining herself.

“Jared, my dad told me everything that happened today. I know you aren’t at fault, but he’s older. You need to show him some respect.”

‘Ha! Respect!’ I thought.

I had tiptoed around Richard for the past five years, but all I ever received was an accusation that I was the disrespectful one.

Besides, what had her family ever done over the years to show me an ounce of respect?

Thinking about it was pointless.

Snow thought I was still sulking, but the truth was, I had already started wondering if it was time to let her go.